Desktop panels can no longer be tabbed? (2025x)

I recently made the switch from 2024b to 2025b. I have always run with the 'Workspace' and 'Files' panels tabbed together. It appears that this is no longer possible. Am I missing something? Dragging one panel over the other just swaps places. Seems like a step backwards to remove this functionality while trumpeting better 'customization'.

[Adam]

There are a lot of aspects of the user experience that changed for the worse from 2024a to 2025a when I upgraded. I guess it's possible the new UI will evolve to include things like this again, but for me the jump from 2024x to 2025x is the biggest regression in user experience in 20 years of using Matlab.

[dpb]

Indeed, sometimes "new and improved" is just "new and different" and only improved in the eyes of the vendor.

One wonders if there really is a camp that thinks losing functionality or arbitrarily arranging user work environment really is "better" or whether it just was simpler to code under the new implementation guidelines after a management decision to "refresh" the appearance. It seems there's a lot that is changed simply to have been changed.

[John]

This revised 2025x UI is a complete trainwreck. I always operate with my editor in a separate window. But why in the world would you have "Undock Editor" distinct and incompatible with "Undock myfile.m"?

(By 'incompatible' I mean that if I undock a single file, I cannot drag that file window over to dock with the editor.)

[Chace]

This has been my main gripe with the 2025x updates, otherwise I think they did a good job. I loved the flexibility I had with the panal layout in previous versions. I really hope they revert it back to the old system of ui layout customization, because the current option is very frustrating.

[dpb]

It is irrevocable that Mathworks is committed to the new desktop going forward. I would recommend <What's behind the new desktop> to get a viewpoint from the developer's perspective.

That said, submit complaints and/or enhancement requests officially at <Product Support Page> in order for there to be any chance at all of them making changes in appearance and/or functionality. Answers isn't an official channel so complaints/suggestions posted here may or may not be seen and it's unlikely would ever get into the enhancement list otherwise.

[John]

Yes, I'll head over there in time. I was hoping originally to get a handle on my original question (tabbed controls), but I do see that I've drifted into general griping.

[dpb]

I think griping is worthwhile if there are reasons behind the complaints and I think some of the decisions made in the new desktop design are also troubling for certain users. Whether any specific functionality can be implemented even if Mathworks were convinced of value is not something that is at all clear so what may or may even be possible to regain is unknowable to end users. Hence, I think noting what do and don't like is important if it impacts your workflow negatively.

[John]

So just to summarize (I've submitted all of these as 'Feedback' in the app). But I'm hoping that a bit of public airing might help bring attention to some broken workflows:

• Panels cannot be tabbed. This is a loss of functionality.
• Ability to drag and drop between windows is greatly diminished. This leads to some seriously impaired workflow. In particular: a) you cannot drag a file from the file panel into the editor and b) you cannot drag one undocked document into the editor

None of these are absolute show stoppers (I can find some workarounds), but overall I see the revised UI as great step backwards for the natural interactions that have been standard features for many years.

[Chad]

I agree that the UI changes are going to be frustrating. For 20+ years, I've had tabbed Workspace and Files on the right side. We can't even move the command window to the left.

[dpb]

@Chad I'd still urge to submit comments on how you configure the desktop and what you find wrong with the revisions. As noted above, it is irrevocable the old desktop isn't coming back, but only official user feedback will have any influence on possible enhancements to return or replace changed functionality.

[Adrien]

Indeed that suck, it just makes the screen more crowded.

Answer 1

[Alex Pedcenko]

But you can just close one of the panels, e.g. the Workspace, leaving, say, only Files. Then right click on the right "vertical panel icons bar thing" --> open more panels --> Workspace. Now you can quickly switch between Workspace and Files by pressing their icons (which you can move and rearrange to your liking) in that right vertical icons bar, which kind of gives you similar behaviour as if the panels they were tabbed. Can arrange that bar to be on the right or left.

[John]

My typical layout (that I've used for many years) is to have 'History' bottom left, then a tabbed version of Files and Workspace above. A given panel can only appear in a single panel group, so if I separate Files and Workspace, then I lose History (in at least one configuration).